Morbidity from cancer in the United States.

Abstract

In the face of rising levels of atmospheric contamination, the subject of radioactive fallout warrants the concern of today's public health worker and the populations he serves. It is kept alive through the press, radio, and television and in some instances, unfortunately, has been inaccurately interpreted. This summary report of the director of the Atomic Energy Commission's Division of Biology and Medicine was especially prepared for presentation at the Hearings on Fallout before the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, May 5-8, 1959. It is factual and yet interpretive for the benefit of those who are unfamiliar with day-to-day advances in the field. Twenty-seven pages constitute the body of the report, while the remaining 83 pages are devoted to supporting appendixes, individually authored by specialists. The report includes a valuable tabulation of AEC's program devoted to research into the nature and hazards of fallout. Health administrators and their lieutenants, and related workers in the biological realm would do well to add this document to their list of required reading. By so doing, they will be better informed on the nature and distribution of fallout, and on how and by whom pertinent studies are being conducted. They will benefit also from a lucid explanation of the problem of permissible levels of radiation exposure. Of particular significance is a statement in the text which points to the paucity of relative information on man with respect to the effects of low dose and the low total doses which we are concerned with today. Man's quest for new uses of atomic energy will require intensified research if man himself is to emerge the victor. It is patently clear that the double-edged sword of radiation must be under full control at all times, and that under the aegis of the Atomic Energy Commission some valuable contributions toward this end have been made. JAMIES LIEBERMIAN